Amy Federer — NAMI &
Shadiqua Smith-Spann – Uponyaji
Length: 1 hr. 15 min.
This presentation will provide a personal perspective of mental health conditions, as leaders with lived experience talk openly about what it’s like to have a mental health condition. NAMI’s “In Our Own Voice” presentations change attitudes, assumptions, and ideas about people with mental health conditions.
Amy Federer (she / her / hers) was born in South Carolina and raised in Philadelphia. She is in recovery of substance abuse, multiple mental illnesses and has been to prison. Having seen her, you would never think this were the case. That’s because mental illness and addiction can happen to any one of us. Amy has worked at The Consumer Satisfaction Team, Inc. as a Behavioral Health Specialist and at Verizon in the corporate world. But the mental health field kept calling to her, so she is currently working at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in Philadelphia. There, Amy assists with the CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) with the Philadelphia Police and Philadelphia Prisons, facilitates support groups, sits on various committees, coordinates Signature Programing, as well as many other advocacy and community efforts. She is trained in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and Adult & Youth Mental Health First Aid. She believes it is her destiny to have gone through all that she has been through in order to give her the life lessons, and have the ability needed, to help the next person who is suffering.
Shadiqua’s passion for mental health began with her own struggles. Growing up in an environment where mental health discussions were rejected, she didn’t have any support to guide her in the process of healing. However, a series of traumatic events and numerous suicide attempts gave birth to a strong desire to improve the conditions of her life. During her recovery, Shadiqua discovered where and how to begin her journey. Shadiqua’s own path was revealed to her and many of the doors that were once closed, opened. Her experiences gave her the necessary resources and insight to enrich her community. Shadiqua is now certified as a Certified Peer Specialist and Community Health Worker. She used both her training and experience to start her own nonprofit Uponyaji, which means healing in Swahili. Shadiqua’s nonprofit is based in Philadelphia, Pa, and aims to provide mental health resources and spread awareness within the black community. Her goal is to share her stories, experience, and knowledge with her community through her nonprofit.